Jordan’s help against Iran shows relationship with Israel still strong, despite Gaza

On Saturday night, dozens of drones launched by Iran toward Israel were intercepted by Jordanian air force jets as they crossed the kingdom’s airspace. The military assistance provided by Amman to Israel was welcomed enthusiastically in the Jewish state, but also came as a surprise to many Israelis, since the Hashemite Kingdom has been a source of relentless criticism of Israel’s war against Hamas, and has been under intense domestic pressure to break off diplomatic relations with Jerusalem. “Despite all of the political tensions between Jordan and Israel, the military and intelligence relationship never stopped,” he said. “As a matter of fact, the worse the politics gets, the closer the militaries get, because they both understand the need to maintain this relationship. This is part of both Jordan’s military doctrine and Israeli military doctrine.” In 1994, Jordan became the second Arab country to establish diplomatic ties with Israel (after Egypt in 1979). Jordan sees itself as the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa compound, and the two countries have strong security and intelligence cooperation. Israel provides Jordan with gas through a multi-billion-dollar deal, and with water as part of the 1994 treaty. In November, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced that his country would back out of a United Arab Emirates-brokered deal intended to have Jordan supply solar energy to Israel in return for Israel giving it desalinated water. But in March, Amman reportedly asked to extend it by an additional year. “What happened on Saturday night should be a reminder not only to the Jordanians but also to the Israelis of the importance of their relationship,” al-Omari said.